Polar Ignite Watch Review
This review will be more of a story as opposed to comparing features to other watch brands. Also intend to update review over time as additional features are used.
Previous watch was Garmin 225 with chest strap. This watch was ok and did it's job well but getting a little old now. Main goal of new watch was to track swimming and improve my running.
My previous running program was run 5km a couple of times per week and try and beat previous time. In hindsight great way to make limited progress and get injured. This usually happened in the final km of 5 km pushing to beat previous time.
Reflecting on this and needing to try something different introduced zone 2 runs plus some intervals based on some online research this was ok and I improved but not very structured and probably not optimal.
What drew me to this watch after reviewing multiple other watches was two features;
Fitspark - This suggest workouts based on your past workout history and sleep patterns. It is like a personal trainer in your watch suggesting running workouts, resistance workouts and stretching/mobility. Really easy to use and great feature.
Swimming tracking - Usually swim once a week at the pool and do occasional ocean swim. Most sports watches don't track swimming well. Polar Ignite has pool and ocean swim features. Due to covid-19 have not been able to try out but will update when I can.
Now is Fitspark useful as main selling feature of watch? Yes for the average person who wants to run faster, get fit and feel good it's very effective and easy to use. For the professional or serious athlete with dedicated training plans it would be less useful as these workouts would need to be followed to reach a specific goal as opposed to general running training.
For Fitspark my main goal was to improve my 5km time, therefore will focus on the running side of Fitspark. The running suggestions were very different to what I was doing before and based on heart rate zones at a high level the three main running workouts are;
Prior to starting this training method I did a 5km run as a baseline and got 25:14 then 5 weeks later after running the program above got 23:27. This is a time improvement of of approximately 1:45 which is pretty good for 5 weeks.
Previous watch was Garmin 225 with chest strap. This watch was ok and did it's job well but getting a little old now. Main goal of new watch was to track swimming and improve my running.
My previous running program was run 5km a couple of times per week and try and beat previous time. In hindsight great way to make limited progress and get injured. This usually happened in the final km of 5 km pushing to beat previous time.
Reflecting on this and needing to try something different introduced zone 2 runs plus some intervals based on some online research this was ok and I improved but not very structured and probably not optimal.
What drew me to this watch after reviewing multiple other watches was two features;
Fitspark - This suggest workouts based on your past workout history and sleep patterns. It is like a personal trainer in your watch suggesting running workouts, resistance workouts and stretching/mobility. Really easy to use and great feature.
Swimming tracking - Usually swim once a week at the pool and do occasional ocean swim. Most sports watches don't track swimming well. Polar Ignite has pool and ocean swim features. Due to covid-19 have not been able to try out but will update when I can.
Now is Fitspark useful as main selling feature of watch? Yes for the average person who wants to run faster, get fit and feel good it's very effective and easy to use. For the professional or serious athlete with dedicated training plans it would be less useful as these workouts would need to be followed to reach a specific goal as opposed to general running training.
For Fitspark my main goal was to improve my 5km time, therefore will focus on the running side of Fitspark. The running suggestions were very different to what I was doing before and based on heart rate zones at a high level the three main running workouts are;
- Cardio Medium (zone 3 run)
- Cardio Long (mix of zone 2 and zone 3 run)
- Cardio Interval (zone 3 with a couple of zone 4/5 intervals)
Prior to starting this training method I did a 5km run as a baseline and got 25:14 then 5 weeks later after running the program above got 23:27. This is a time improvement of of approximately 1:45 which is pretty good for 5 weeks.
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This is a pretty significant improvement and doubt I would have achieved this on my own. Fitspark definitely added value and structure to my running. Do I want to wake up some mornings and do a zone 2/3 for run for 1.30 hrs no not really but you need to channel your inner David Goggins and grind it out.
Previously I had been skeptical of zone 2 running to build a base and efficiency but it is the real deal. You really to start to feel like a better more efficient and faster runner when you follow a program as detailed above as opposed to multiple shorter high intensity runs that leave you worn out with higher risk of injury.
Despite running more and over longer distance I have not felt like I was going to get injured or recovery was being hampered. Polar flow app and fitspark let you know if you are going to hard or to soft and what you need to do to keep improving, very helpful and great easy to use features.
If you want to improve you need to do the work the Polar Ignite and Fitspark lays out the work you need to do. You just need to hold you self accountable and do the work. Looking to update this in future with a sub 20 minute 5 km run :-)
Previously I had been skeptical of zone 2 running to build a base and efficiency but it is the real deal. You really to start to feel like a better more efficient and faster runner when you follow a program as detailed above as opposed to multiple shorter high intensity runs that leave you worn out with higher risk of injury.
Despite running more and over longer distance I have not felt like I was going to get injured or recovery was being hampered. Polar flow app and fitspark let you know if you are going to hard or to soft and what you need to do to keep improving, very helpful and great easy to use features.
If you want to improve you need to do the work the Polar Ignite and Fitspark lays out the work you need to do. You just need to hold you self accountable and do the work. Looking to update this in future with a sub 20 minute 5 km run :-)